Soldiers are on way back to Northwest.

Byline: The Register-Guard

"Hurry up and wait," an unofficial motto of troops and military families everywhere, proved true Wednesday when a late-night return was delayed for the first 131 of more than 700 Oregon National Guard soldiers heading home from Iraq.

They were rescheduled to land this morning at McChord Air Force Base near Tacoma.

A chartered commercial flight carrying the soldiers was expected to touch down at McChord at 6 a.m., said Capt. Mike Braibish, a Guard spokesman. The arrival originally had been scheduled for late Wednes- day.

The 700 soldiers - the largest battalion-sized mobilization from Oregon since World War II - are members of the 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry, based in Cottage Grove. The battalion, which has served in Iraq for a year and has seen much combat, includes units based in Coos Bay, Corvallis and Eugene and whose members make their homes in communities across the state.

The first flight is likely to contain platoons from every company, to share the privilege of being among the first to get home, Guard spokeswoman Kay Fristad said.

Fristad wasn't certain of the reason for the one-day delay, but she said it wasn't weather-related and was probably something routine. Such delays are far from unusual in the service, she noted.

"We've gone through this so many times," Fristad said. "This is the military, and things are always subject to change."

The flight from Kuwait takes 20 to 24 hours, she said. Subsequent contingents are scheduled to arrive at McChord tonight and Friday morning.

The soldiers will go through customs and fulfill immediate military obligations at McChord for a couple of hours before being bused from the air base to the adjacent Fort Lewis, where they will meet family members in a gymnasium.

For most of the coming week, they'll undergo more "out-processing" at the fort, then they'll get two-day leaves before reporting to Salem for a few more days of paperwork and orientation back to civilian life.

Those soldiers who can't commute between home and Salem will be housed in contracted hotel rooms, Fristad said.

- Kevin Miller